Refrigeration apparatus



Jan. 30, 1962 P. c. DAVIS 3,019,071

REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Filed May 5, 1959 3? INVENTOR H65. PEARL 0. DAVIS ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,019,071 REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Pearl C. Davis, Mansfield, Ohio, assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed May 5, 1959, Ser. No. 811,085 1 Claim. (Cl. 312-308) This invention relates to shelf structures that are removably carried on slidable supporting meansin cabinets,

especially domestic refrigerator cabinets.

According to the present invention, there is provided a uniquely constructed shelf and shelf supporting means of the type set forth. The shelf supporting means includes a pair of stationary guide rails extending along respective side walls of a cabinet and from front to rear therewithin, and a slide structure carried by the guide rails for slidable movement therealon-g. Included in the slide structure are front and rear pairs of upwardly projecting shelf support members. The rear pair of support members are laterally spaced from each other and each is provided with an upwardly opening slot. The front pair of support members are also spaced apart laterally; however, they are each provided with a forwardly opening slot. And, so that the shelf may be removably and securely held in position on the support members, the shelf includes portions, one for each slot, which are receivable in the respective slots.

With this arrangement the shelf is prevented by the rear support members from moving in at least one horizontal direction. The front support members, on the other hand, prevent the front end of the shelf from being moved in a vertical direction. Removal of the shelf may be accomplished by first swinging the rear of the shelf upwardly until the rear shelf portions are freed from the rear support members, and next moving the shelf forwardly until the front portions of the shelf are liberated from the front support members.

The various objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the detailed description which follows, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this application, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a cabinet incorporating a shelf constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged and fragmentary plan view of a shelf and cabinet of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 2.

The cabinet illustrated fragmentarily in the drawing is of the domestic refrigerator type in which insulated side walls and an insulated rear wall 12 partially enclose a refrigerated storage chamber or compartment 14. The cabinet is open at its front to provide access to the compartment 14, and this access opening is normally closed by an insulated door (not shown). Disposed within the compartment 14 are the improved shelf 16 and shelf supports 18 and 20 of this invention.

The shelf 16 is of open-work construction and includes transversely extending front and rear elements 22 and 24, respectively, which are rod-like and arranged so that the rear element is above the front element. Forming a storage deck for the shelf 16 are a multiplicity of elongated bars 26 which extend rearwardly and horizontally from the front element 22 and bend, or turn, upwardly adjacent their rear end portions where they are joined to the rear element 24. With this construction, stored articles are unlikely to fall from the rear of the shelf deck if the shelf is jerked forwardly, or stopped suddenly during rearward movement. The shelf supice ports 18 and 20 are similarly constructed; hence, only one shelf support 18 will be described in detail and like reference numerals are used to designate their similar component parts.

The shelf support 18 includes a stationary guide rail 30 which extends along a side wall 10 and is rigidly supported at the front and rear ends thereof. The rearend of the guide rail 30 is received in a socket 32 provided in the rear wall 12 of the cabinet. rail 30 is connected to a bracket 34 which, in turn, is

secured to the side wall 10 near the front of the storage ing movement from front to back and back to front, while a front portion of the slide 36 is received by the bracket 34 for similar sliding movement. The hanger 37 includes a pair of cylindrical sleeves 39 and 40', which are arranged one above the other and rigidly connected to each other. The upper sleeve 39 receives the rail 30 and is movable with respect thereto; and the lower sleeve 40 is rigidly connected to the rear end of the slide 36. A stop 38, secured to the slide 36, limits the extent of forward sliding movement of the slide by engaging the bracket 34.

The slide 36 is further provided at its front and rear ends with front and rear shelf support members 41 and 42, respectively. The rear shelf support member 42 projects upwardly from the upper sleeve 39 of the hanger 37 and is provided with an upwardly opening slot 43. The front shelf support member 41 is rigidly connected to the front of the slide 36 by means of a sleeve 44 which is fastened securely and immovably to the slide, as by pinning. The front shelf support member 41 projects upwardly from the sleeve 44 and is provided with a forwardly opening slot 45. The distance, from front to rear, between the closed end of the slot 45 and the open end of the slot 43 is substantially equal to the distance between the transversely extending shelf elements 22 and 24, and the slots are oriented so that portions of the shelf elements are receivable in them for easy removal and replacement of the shelf 16.

As shown in full lines in FIG. 3, the shelf 16 is securely and stably supported; and it is freely slidable with its supports back and forth in the cabinet. The shelf 16 is also easily removable, such as for cleaning and for transporting stored articles, as shown in phantom, by first swinging the rear of the shelf upwardly and about its front, transverse element '22 while the latter remains held in the forwardly opening slots 45. The second and final step in removing the shelf 16, after the rear shelf element 24 has been raised above the rear shelf support member 42, is to move the shelf forwardly until it is free from the front support member 41. The foregoing procedure is reversed for replacing the shelf.

The present invention is an improvement over prior art shelf structures of this kind because the present shelf 16 is held securely in position for sliding movement with its supports 18 and 20 without locking devices and merely by its own weight. In addition, the shelf of the present arrangement is readily and easily separable from its supports; and it is removable from the storage compartment 14 with only a slight departure from a horizontal attitude. Thus, if desired, the shelf may be removed from its supports or replaced thereon with items resting thereon. From the foregoing it will be apparent that a uniquely constructed removable shelf and slidable shelf Patented Jan. 30, 1962 The front end of thesupporting means affording a high measure of convenience and dependability has been provided.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the upwardly opening slot 43 of each rear shelf support member 42 is defined by a pair of horizontally spaced lugs 48 and 49 and a supporting surface; but only the front lug and the supporting surface, in cooperation with the front support member 41, are required to restrain the shelf 16 from forward or rearward, horizontal movement. It is possible, therefore, to practice the present invention by omitting the rear lug 49 from the rear shelf support member 42.

And, while the invention has been shown in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.

' What is claimed is:

In a refrigerator cabinet having side and rear walls, a pair of stationary guide rails rigidly supported at the back of the cabinet and extending along respective side Walls from rear to front within the cabinet, means rigidly supporting the front ends of said guide rails, a shelf including a generally horizontal storage deck having a turned-up portion at the rear thereof to guard against objects falling from said shelf'during movement thereof,

and vertically and horizontally spaced, transversely extending elements carrying said deck, one of said shelf elements being rigidly connected to a front portion of said storage deck, the other of said shelf elements being disposed above said one shelf element and rigidly connected to the turned-up rear portion of said storage deck, a pair of slides on which said shelf is removably supported mounted respectively on said guide rails for slidable movement therealong, each slide including front and rear shelf support members which project upwardly from said slide structure, each of said rear support members being laterally spaced from the other and provided with an upwardly opening slot, each of the front support members being laterally spaced from the other and provided with a forwardly opening slot which extends below said upwardly opening slots, each of said slots having a shelf element portion receivable therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

